Even Major League Baseball Hates the FCC's Internet Fast Lanes

Baseball loves net neutrality.

The Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins engage in a friendly debate, presumably about the finer points of net neutrality. Credit: Getty Images.

Netflix isn't the only content provider openly protesting the FCC's proposed new rules against net neutrality. Major League Baseball sent a letter to the FCC last week calling the proposal a gamble and saying it would probably do more harm than good for users.

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Why does baseball care so much about net neutrality? Because it streams a mound of content. The MLB's streaming package, MLB.TV, might be the best in pro sports, allowing customers to watch just about any regular-season game live (you can't watch your local team, as cable TV channels hold the rights). That means that nearly every day from April through September, the league is live streaming as many as 15 games per day (and potentially more, thanks to the magic of doubleheaders).

It's annoying when your Netflix freezes and you find yourself staring at the spinning wheel while it tries to get that episode of "Orange is the New Black" going again. It might be even more annoying if your baseball game freezes, since people want to watch it live.

You can read baseball's full letter to the FCC here. The key statement: "Fast lanes would serve only one purpose: for Broadband ISPs to receive an economic windfall. American consumers would be worse off as the costs of fast lanes are passed along to them in new fees or charges where there were none, or higher fees or charges where they existed."